GST bill to be taken up on Wednesday: Ananth Kumar

Updated: Monday, August 1, 2016, 18:38 [IST]

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New Delhi, Aug 1: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said on Monday that the GST bill has been listed for discussion in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday and hoped it will be passed through consensus.

"The GST bill is listed for Wednesday. We hope it will be passed through consensus," he told reporters here.

The government had initially planned to take up the Goods and Services Tax bill on Tuesday but opted to delay it by a day so that parties have enough time to talk to their members.

The "mood is in favour of passing the bill", said Ananth Kumar, adding that talks are being held with different political parties as the bill concerns all the states.

The cabinet had last week approved key changes in the GST bill, including dropping the proposed one per cent additional tax on inter-state sale, a demand of the Congress.

It had also agreed to include the mechanism to compensate states for all loss of revenues for five years.

The GST Bill is pending in the Rajya Sabha where the government lacks majority and the Congress is the single-largest party.

The GST was first mooted by the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said last week that no final assurance on the bill has been given to the government either by Congress or other opposition parties.